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 BY JEFF FALK

 FREDERICKSBURG – The Elco boys’ basketball team isn’t all that concerned about how it does it. The Raiders simply want to get there.

 Right now, it’s more about the destination than the journey for Elco.

 On Satruday afternoon, duringthe nightcap of a girls’-boys’ doubleheader, the Raiders took another important step towards the promised land that is the playoffs, with a 55-36 triumph over rival Northern Lebanon. The Lancaster-Lebanon Section Four contest was closer than the final score might indicate – a couple of possessions most of the way – before Elco distanced itself from the Vikings in the fourth quarter.

 The result sewed up an L-L playoff berth for Elco, which improved to 12-8 on the season and 8-4 in Section Four. The Raiders are currently situated seventh in a District Three Class AAAA power rankings that accepts ten teams for its postseason tournament.

 For Northern Lebanon, the loss was the tenth in its last 11 outings, after starting the season 4-4. The Vikings, who had dropped a 40-31 decision to Elco in Myerstown on January 11th, are now 5-14 overall and 2-9 in the circuit.

 “The one road block between us and the L-Ls was this game,” said Elco head coach Brad Conners. “This is a big one for us. I feel like the last five or six, everything has been on the line.

 “We started showing signs the last few games,” continued Conners. “We’re starting to look the part. We feel like we’re heading in the right direction. We’re starting to find our rhythm.”

  “I thought we played really well,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Chris George. “Defensively, we played well most of the game. We were right there going into the fourth. It was two possessions most of the game. But we couldn’t hit a shot down the stretch.

 “They (his players) have competed well every game,” George continued. “It’s important to be in every game, for this younger group. Elco deserved to win the game today. Those kids deserve it. They put in the time. They’re in the weight room.”

 Courtesy of Viking Josh Bowers’ free throw at the end of the third stanza, Elco only led 37-31 heading into the fourth. But the Raiders turned up their defensive intensity and hit Northern Lebanon with a crippling 18-4 run to start the final period.

 Behind eight points from Asher Kemble, four each by Evan Huey and Angel Martinez, and a Bryce Coletti deuce, Elco led 55-35 late in the fourth.

 “I’m very happy,” said Conners. “We walked out of here with a 19-point win. It’s a rival game. It’s always hard to close out a rival on the road.

 “That’s what they (the Vikings) do,” added Conners. “They hang around in all of their games. It felt like things were going our way. I thought our defense started to speed them up in the fourth quarter.”

 “If you told me going into the fourth quarter against Elco that we’d only hit a couple of shots and we’d be down just a few points, I’d take it,” said George. “We basically played the game we wanted to play. But sooner or later, you’ve got to hit shots.

 “But give Elco credit,” George added. “He’s got some good athletes over there.”

 Just like the two before it, the third quarter was a struggle.

 An old-fashioned three-point play by Bowers 1:10 into the second half pulled the Vikings to within 26-24 of the Raiders. Elco’s response was a 9-1 spurt fueled by four Braden Bohannon points, a Kemble jumper, an inside basket from Luke Williams and a Coletti charity toss that jacked its lead back to 35-25.

 “They play hard. They’re scary,” said Conners of the Vikes. “They’ve got a couple kids who, if you give them a crack, they can hit shots. It’s a typical Northern Lebanon type of deal.”

 “Elco’s built to win now,” said George. “We’re probably built for the next few years. We’re just not quite finishing. We are a young team. We’re not getting destroyed in games and that should give us some confidence.”

 With 22 points, Kemble led all scorers, while Bohannon popped for 11 points. The Vikings got 11 points from Peyton Wolfe and ten from Bowers.

 The Raiders held Northern Lebanon to six total field goals, but the Vikings attempted 31 foul shots, making 22 of them.

 “He’s not afraid of the moment,” said Conners of Kemble. “I’m proud of him. He’s really coming along. He wants it. There’s desire there.”

 “Peyton was the only guy who could hit a shot,” said George. “At some point, you’ve got to give them (the Raiders) credit. You play well enough to be in these games and then don’t make plays down the stretch. If this was a senior-laden team, it would be harder to take.”

 Elco notched 12 of the game’s first 15 points and led by nine points 4:21 in, on a driving lay-up from Coletti. But Wolfe drained a three-pointer at the end of the opening quarter and Bowers worked his way inside for a deuce to open the second, and Northern Lebanon was within 19-14 of the lead.

 “The league is settled and I’m glad we’re in,” said Conners of the playoffs. “After last night’s loss (Friday to Garden Spot), I couldn’t look at the district rankings. I’d like to see us get the sixth seed. It guarantees you two games and it gives us a chance at states. We’ll see. They’re (his current group) a little ahead of other teams we’ve had.

 “We experienced it (districts) last year. Now we want to win a game,” added Conners. “I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet. We feel like we play our best basketball against good teams. It would be nice to get a home game (in districts) and a state qualifier.”

 “Losing the Pine Grove game in overtime, and the (Lancaster) Catholic game last week, those two cemented us not getting a spot (in the postseason),” said George. “We’re not a 13-5 team or even a 9-9 team. We should be 8-10 or 7-11. Sometimes, that’s the way it flips. But early on, I thought we had it.”

 The Vikings netted four unanswered points in the middle of the second quarter to pull within 21-18 of Elco. The half ended with the Raiders ahead 26-21.

 “It hasn’t really worked out that way in the past,” said Conners, of the parralelling success being experienced by the boys’ and girls’ basketball programs at Elco. “It’s awesome. I’m happy forAshli (Shay) and the girls. It’s a fun time at Elco.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018-19 Elco Boys’ Basketball Results

 
 
Date Opponents Outcomes  
12/07
6:00 pm
Cedar Crest
Elco
at Lebanon
67
36
 
12/08
6:00 pm
Red Land
Elco
at Lebanon
37
60
 
12/11
7:30 pm
Elco
at Annville-Cleona
67
47
 
12/14
7:30 pm
Elco
at Cocalico
42
39
 
12/17
7:30 pm
Manheim Central
at Elco
31
62
 
12/19
7:30 pm
Elco
at Solanco
61
55
 
12/21
7:30 pm
Lampeter-Strasburg
at Elco
51
31
 
12/28
7:30 pm
Elco
at Eastern York
65
70
 
12/29
6:00 pm
Elco
Spring Grove
at Eastern York Holiday Tournament
72
39
 
1/04
7:30 pm
Elco
at Octorara
50
54
 
1/05
1:30 pm
Oley Valley
at Elco
36
64
 
1/08
7:30 pm
Donegal
at Elco
42
52
 
1/09
7:30 pm
Elco
at Camp Hill
57
67
 
1/11
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Elco
31
40
 
1/16
7:30 pm
Elco
at Wyomissing
38
54
 
1/18
7:30 pm
Elco
at Lancaster Catholic
40
42
 
1/22
7:30 pm
Octorara
at Elco
37
42
 
1/25
7:30 pm
Elco
at Donegal
66
50
 
2/01
7:30 pm
Elco
at Garden Spot
48
51
 
2/02
2:30 pm
Elco
at Northern Lebanon
   
2/05
7:30 pm
Lancaster Catholic
at Elco
   
2/06
5:00 pm
Elco
at Conrad Weiser
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2018-19 Northern Lebanon Boys’ Basketball Results
 
 
 
Date Opponents Outcomes  
12/07
6:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
Camp Hill
at Bermudian Springs
35
49
 
12/08
6:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Bermudian Springs
31
28
 
12/11
7:30 pm
Williams Valley
at Northern Lebanon
52
57
 
12/14
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Lampeter-Strasburg
36
52
 
12/17
7:30 pm
Cocalico
at Northern Lebanon
46
48
 
12/19
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Garden Spot
23
51
 
12/21
7:30 pm
Solanco
at Northern Lebanon
37
36
 
12/27
7:30 pm
Tulpehocken
at Northern Lebanon
53
71
 
12/28
7:30 pm
Littlestown
Northern Lebanon
at N. Lebanon Holiday Tourn.
75
27
 
1/04
7:30 pm
Lancaster Catholic
at Northern Lebanon
62
30
 
1/07
7:30 pm
Pine Grove
at Northern Lebanon
53
47
 
1/11
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Elco
31
40
 
1/15
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Octorara
43
57
 
1/18
7:30 pm
Donegal
at Northern Lebanon
43
48
 
1/19
12:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Conrad Weiser
29
54
 
1/22
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Lancaster Catholic
39
41
 
1/24
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Manheim Central
33
36
 
1/26
6:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Northern Lebanon
59
51
 
2/02
2:30 pm
Elco
at Northern Lebanon
   
2/02
7:00 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Palmyra
   
2/05
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Donegal
   
2/08
7:30 pm
Octorara
at Northern Lebanon
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PIAA District Three
 Class AAAA Power Rankings
 
 
AAAA School  W  L  T  Rating  TWP  OWP  TWPW  OWPW  TWPL  OWPL
1 Bishop McDevitt 17- 2- 0  0.742024  0.916462  0.528822  18.7  211.0  1.7  188.0
2 Eastern York 18- 3- 0  0.733927  0.885906  0.548175  19.8  225.3  2.6  185.7
3 Berks Catholic School 15- 3- 0  0.715761  0.851351  0.550038  15.8  214.4  2.8  175.4
4 Littlestown 19- 1- 0  0.691239  0.961538  0.360874  18.8  147.9  0.8  261.9
5 Lancaster Catholic 14- 7- 0  0.641681  0.709220  0.559133  15.0  233.6  6.2  184.2
6 Susquehanna Township 10- 9- 0  0.578009  0.579088  0.576689  10.8  213.0  7.9  156.4
7 Eastern Lebanon County 11- 8- 0  0.572602  0.622739  0.511323  12.1  212.3  7.3  202.9
8 Schuylkill Valley 11- 8- 0  0.554620  0.582656  0.520354  10.8  211.6  7.7  195.0
9 Octorara Area 10- 8- 0  0.552952  0.609890  0.483360  11.1  196.8  7.1  210.4
10 Fleetwood 10- 9- 0  0.509006  0.560647  0.445889  10.4  174.9  8.2  217.4
11 Boiling Springs 6- 11- 0  0.508426  0.402556  0.637822  6.3  258.4  9.4  146.7
12 Wyomissing 10- 11- 0  0.504794  0.511057  0.497139  10.4  208.6  10.0  211.0
13 West Perry 10- 9- 0  0.504357  0.529870  0.473174  10.2  183.0  9.1  203.8
14 Susquehannock 6- 13- 0  0.467361  0.343840  0.618333  6.0  257.4  11.5  158.9
15 Kennard Dale 7- 12- 0  0.445215  0.400545  0.499811  7.4  198.1  11.0  198.3
16 East Pennsboro Area 6- 14- 0  0.420604  0.323232  0.539615  6.4  201.6  13.4  172.0
17 James Buchanan 4- 14- 0  0.405465  0.251534  0.593603  4.1  226.4  12.2  155.0
18 Northern Lebanon 5- 14- 0  0.392700  0.283747  0.525866  5.2  215.5  13.0  194.3
19 Bermudian Springs 5- 15- 0  0.354762  0.244624  0.489375  4.6  198.1  14.1  206.7
20 Middletown Area 1- 15- 0  0.337088  0.068182  0.665752  1.1  242.6  14.4  121.8
21 Hamburg Area 2- 18- 0  0.293033  0.096939  0.532705  1.9  220.3  17.7  193.3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lancaster-Lebanon League
 Section Four Standings
 
 
  League Overall
  W L PCT W L PCT PF PA
Lancaster Catholic 10 2 83.33 14 7 66.67 1191 923
Elco 7 4 63.64 11 8 57.89 993 900
Octorara 5 6 45.45 10 9 52.63 1066 1045
Northern Lebanon 2 8 20.00 5 13 27.78 715 888
Donegal 0 11 0.00 0 20 0.00 834 1241
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

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